The production of decorative surfaced panels designed for such applications as furniture and vertical surfaces where exceptionally high abrasion resistance is not required has increased enormously over the past decade. These panels comprise a single sheet of melamine/formaldehyde resin impregnated decorative paper which is bonded under heat and pressure to a substrate, usually particleboard, of about one-quarter to about one inch in thickness. These products, because they are produced at low pressures, i.e., about 300 psi, and at very short cure cycles, i.e., 2-3 minutes, are relatively inexpensive and have a good appearance and stain resistance.
Abrasion resistance thereof is, however, often poor and attempts have been made to improve the property by providing a layer of clear, unfilled melamine/formaldehyde resin on top of the decorative sheet. While these panels have proven very successful in that the abrasion resistance is somewhat elevated, they deteriorate when subjected to humidity conditions encountered in normal use.
This deterioration manifests itself as surface cracks in the panel after it is subjected to low humidity. The cracks are believed to be a result of the dimensional instability of the melamine/formaldehyde resin. These resins undergo dimensional changes owing (1) to loss of water during curing, (2) to cooling after release from the panel press and (3) to loss or gain of water during subsequent exposure to the environment. The dimensional changes are often enough to strain the resin to failure, thus forming cracks. The decorative cellulosic sheet aids in the resistance of the panel to cracking, but its effectiveness is limited by the need for a resin-rich surface to impart abrasion resistance.
Known additives which generally have been added to melamine/formaldehyde resins (such as sucrose, dipentaerythritol sebacate, etc.) so as to react with the resin and reduce the tightness of cross-linking usually associated with brittleness do not prevent cracking to a satisfactory degree.
Attempts to increase the abrasion resistance of these so-called "low pressure melamine panels" by increasing the surface layer of resin on the panel have proven unsuccessful because the thicker resin layers tend to result in more serious crack formations. Other attempts to solve the crack and abrasion problem have resulted in satisfactory solutions from the standpoint of panel efficiency but have so increased the cost of production that sales of the panels have decreased.
Therefore, if a panel could be produced at low cost having intermediate abrasion and crack resistant properties at low humidity, a long-felt need could be satisfied.